ACG Tampa Bay EP - The Evolution of Access to Capital/Financing

Event Details

When:

September 11, 2025 5:30 PM - 8 PM EDT

Where:

Location Name

Brio Itallian Grille

Location Address

2223 North Westshore Boulevard
Tampa, FL 33607
United States

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Overview

Body

Join us as we hear from three different capital providers (lender, private credit, private equity) and hear unique perspectives on the current environment, how their capital differs, and how they work together.

Speakers

Blair Badham

Lafayette Square

Managing Director

Blair Badham is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square®. Prior to joining Lafayette Square®, Blair served as Managing Director, Mergers and Acquisitions at Butler Snow Advisory. During his time at Butler Snow Advisory, he led sell side, buyside and capital raise transactions for privately owned and closely held businesses. Prior to joining Butler Snow, Blair managed the market launch and business development activities of EBSCO Capital, the investment division of EBSCO Industries. Headquartered in Birmingham, EBSCO Industries is a privately held conglomerate comprised of over 20 businesses and more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue. Before his role at EBSCO Capital, Blair served in multiple capacities for Jemison Metals, a Birmingham-based steel service center, including strategic planning, cultivating new territories, implementing software-based supply chain management tools, and developing and managing relationships with Fortune 500 industrial conglomerates. Blair began his career in commercial banking, and spent five years with First Commercial Bank's commercial and industrial lending team, where he managed numerous middle market relationships for the bank.

Blair earned a B.S. from the University of Alabama in 2003 and an M.B.A., with honors, from Samford University's Brock School of Business in 2009. He is an active member of the Rotary Club of Birmingham and serves as treasurer for his church.

Ron Moore

KLH Capital

Director

Ron is responsible for identifying investment opportunities, including initial financial, operating, and competitive analysis of businesses. Prior to joining KLH, Ron served as an Assistant Vice President at USAmeriBank, where his responsibilities included origination, analysis, and transaction execution on lower middle market senior loans. Ron graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and earned a Juris Doctor from Stetson College of Law.

Benjamin Powers

Vally Bank

Director - Corporate & Middle Market Banking

Ben leads the Corporate & Middle Market Banking team on the west coast of Florida. He has over 15 years of banking experience and has been with Valley Bank for 9 years. He specializes in working with mid to large companies to provide financing, treasury management solutions, cash management, FX & interest rate hedging, etc

Connor Gibson (Moderator)

Bennet Thrasher

Director

Connor Gibson is a Director at Bennett Thrasher in the firm’s TAS practice. Connor advises both strategic and private equity investors on buy-side and sell-side transactions. His primary focus areas include evaluating the quality of earnings, net working capital and indebtedness in addition to identifying other key transactions issues. Connor has worked on both domestic and international transactions ranging from $1M – $550M in deal value.

Hosted by: ACG

Chapter

Tampa Bay